Sunday, December 14, 2008

The art of the season!

Just got the tree up yesterday. We
took it from the bucket in the garage
and juggled the screws until it seemed
straight. Is it ever? Well with the lights
and ornaments on, it is yet another
season of loveliness to enjoy. I trust
that all of you are doing that with
your holiday preparations as well!

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Student set-up

A student of mine has created this beautiful set-up
to learn more about painting glass and also doing
a flower. The cast shadow of the vase is really quite
fabulous I think!
Flowers are among the more difficult
things to paint and so I like to have students start
with one that has only a simple petal formation.
Perhaps she will let me post her painting when it
is done. So far she has just created this and next
lesson will be doing the drawing before beginning
to paint.

Friday, November 28, 2008

Strength and Motion


I wanted the best title I could think of for this
11" x 14" panel painting. The enormous tree
and its massive old trunk was the perfect stable
mooring for the swing. This is from a visit I made
a few years ago to Tolchester Maryland. A really
out of the way, back in time bed and breakfast
with this marvelous pond and ancient trees.
Very soothing place to be.

Thursday, November 27, 2008

Happy Thanksgiving!

Yesterday I was shopping at my local favorite
store and here are two wonderful upbeat people
who helped me. The headpieces cracked me up!
Now they are smiling at you wishing you a Happy
Thanksgiving along with me!

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

My bookcover art!



A young friend of mine has just published
her first novel. She asked me if she could
use a painting of mine for the cover. So
here is the result of my answer!
Will take you to the publishers site to read
about it. I have just completed the book
and this young woman is a VERY good
writer! I'm honored to be on the cover of
such a great beginning to her career.

Years ago

Recently an old friend of mine sent me
this photograph. We went to high school
and university together. While in college,
I painted this and my friend bought it.
I had not seen this image for many years
and am actually very pleasantly surprised
at its strength and feeling. AND I love the
colors!
I painted this image from a photo my Dad
had taken of 2 gals in the wings off the high
school stage during a play. They were
prompters if anyone forgot their lines.
The scarf over the edge ion the left is
a bit disconcerting, but it certainly goes
with the colors in the painting.
Hope you like it!

Friday, November 7, 2008

The magic of help!




These wonderful smiling gals are my two studio
assistants. Kathy, on the left, comes 2 afternoons
a week and is invaluable to my work and promotion
projects. Rene is a senior in high school and she
comes after school once a week and helps me
by keeping the studio clean and orderly.
I am thankful for them both! You notice how
work gets done around here....it's magic for sure!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

The art of Halloween



Believe it or not, I HAVE been painting, but not posting
for a while. So here's a treat for you (no trick!).
I decided to have my camera ready when the little
cuties came to the door last night. So here are 3
groups that showed up. I asked them if I could take
their photo, all said yes, then they got the candy
AND my latest art promotion card to give their
parents! They seemed to like it just fine.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Sharing what I know


Today I had the privilege of talking to two art classes

at one of the high schools near me. I was happy to

have their interest and great questions about my

life as an artist. I did a demonstration about glazing

in oil paint and here I am showing a painting before

the glaze is applied. I very much appreciate the help

and interest of their teacher who asked me to do this

and who set it up beautifully. All in all there were

about 60-some students and I hope I planted a few

seeds that will sprout more artists. Y

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Kitchen beauty




It is possible that you won't believe that this
arrangement of things was truly like this when I
noticed the sun shining on them and decided I had
to take photos. In other words, I didn't 'arrange'
them. I had the flowers next to the sink so I could
remove the brown blooms, the glasses were drying
from being taken out of the dishwasher and I had just
taken the peaches out of a shopping bag. Should
I call this post 'The unconscious artist'?

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Summer lilypond photos



Three for price of one click to my blog! I have
always loved water ponds. I have a friend who
has done an awesome job of making one from scratch.
Dug it all out, then laid the heavy plastic and filled it
with beautiful fish and plants. This pond is at the
park that is across the lake from me. I have to
drive about 5 miles around 'Robin Hood's barn'
as my Dad used to say, to get to its entrance!
Anyway, click on these to see the wonders up
close! Oh my gosh! I just looked at the first photo
and for the first time I saw the frog on the pad!
Now that is like getting dessert after a meal that
was already delicious! Enjoy! Maybe you'll find
something else I didn't see!

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Here's my girl in magenta!

Well here she is, up close and personal.
I have had so many good responses to
the feeling I want this painting to evoke
and thank you for your thoughts. Not
all of you have posted on the blog, but
I am satisfied that what I wanted to
communicate came across....

Thursday, August 7, 2008

Almost completed

A few blog posts back you saw this piece
as I started it. It is nearly done and now
I am in the tweaking stage for bringing
it to be the exact communication I want
to be. I had fun doing the bricks which
sort of surprises me as I don't like doing
fussy little repetitious details for the most
part.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Waiting for wine!

This glass of remarkable reflections is
an 18 x 24 painting I have underway.
It is on a panel and the glass itself is
9" x 12". I did that in order to really
have those reflections show up! And it
is way more fun to paint it. I took this
shot just before wine was served at
dinner...so you see the reflections on
the inner concave section of the glass
and the outer convex side facing the
window. Looks like European buildings,
but it is actually one of our more
wonderfully preserved towns of
Frederick, Maryland.
Oh yes, and this is about mid-way in
the process. It's not done yet!

Happy Birthday Batik!

This batik is very special for a number of reasons.
First, it is a gift for my sister's birthday which is actually
tomorrow. Second, it was done by my very dear friend,
Dikki Van Helsland. She is an excellent batik artist.
Third, it is of our childhood home, and one in which
my parents lived for most of their married life, some
63 years. I hope you like it as much as my sister does
and I do! Click on the image to see it bigger. There
is embellishment with acrylic and colored pencil for
fine details.

Thursday, July 24, 2008

New work at stage #2


This is the first rough-in stage for the paint.
I have, at this point, worked on it for two
sessions. Now I can see what I want to
emphasize and what to downplay to get
the effect I want from this scene. I have
altered elements from the photos such
as the empty chair position (would you
like to join her?) and simplified the
background content.

All is a supporting cast to the vibrant
young lady taking a break. I am finding
this a very interesting color combination.
I am referring to the strong colors.
Any ideas for a title?

New work #1

Back to the easel after a LOT of other
stuff going on. This work is 24" x 36"
and this is how I start my work that has
a lot in it. I will do small works by just
painting in what I want to start, but when
there are a lot of part, angles, etc. I make
a drawing of it. In this case, of course,
I am not working from 'life'. It is a
composite from a number of photos I
took from a restaurant window, looking
down across the street at this relaxing
scene. Let me know how you like it!
I am a teacher at heart, so I like you
to see how I work!

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Over the top!

I'm running out of superlatives for the skies I've
been seeing around here. How's this one for ya?
Sorry about the wires, but I didn't want to crop
any of it out.

Sunday, July 6, 2008

More inspiration

I love the unposed shots of people doing what is
pleasurable, such as going out to eat in a place
with lots of atmosphere. This is the Olney Ale
House which has been there for many years.
You may see a version of this shot appear in
paint eventually!

ART started this friendship!


This photo is a memento of a passage of life.
Here the two of us have just finished a farewell
dinner. My dear friend of over 20 years, Lori Puente,
is moving across the country in just a matter of a week
or two.
We first met at a festival in the town we both lived
in then. I was demonstrating my art, and she wanted
art lessons. She took them and in those initial days
of contact, we became fast friends. Now she has
grown children and she and her husband are going
west where he has a new job and they will have many
new challenges to meet. I have total certainty that
all of them will be met with her amazing ablility. It
just will be hard to know I can't pop in the car and
drive over to see her.

Cloud perfection!

I am a cloud lover and one day last week was just
amazing around here. The atmosphere was quite
clear and so these fabulous formations were really
visible in all their tonal variations.
I was trying to drive and see all this sky spectacle
at the same time....not such a good practice for sure!
I pulled over a few times and just took photos to my
heart's content.

WOW

And again I give you glorious mother nature on
a major cloud day. This was a week or so ago, and
then again today it was just crazy gorgeous in the
sky. We've had so much rain that the visibility to
clearly see the clouds edges has been great. I may
post some of the pics I took today leaning out of my
car window.
One funny thing is that as I waited at a light today,
a guy was next to me on his motorcycle. I stuck
my camera out the window to capture yet another
cloud formation. He posed for me! But that wasn't
the shot I got. Too bad, and then the light changed
and he rode off, leaving me in the dust!!!
Click on this image to see it bigger!

The front of the Frederick Cellars Winery

Before too much time passes since my June show
at this great place, I am posting this photo of the
front of the winery. This building was constructed
in 1904 as an ice house!

Inspiration!

Driving in the truly beautiful summer
countryside here in Maryland is inspiration
for my work. Lately I have been doing
more driving out and about and there
have been some truly gorgeous vistas.
Fortunately it is not far from my over-built
town to get out into the county. Here is
what I saw on my way to another winery
that could be a possible place for my work.

Friday, June 20, 2008

Commission arrives at its home!


So here it is, up close and on the wall as well! The
proud owner smiles beneath and I am so very
happy that it all turned out so well. Work that
is done long-distance can be really challenging!
Especially abstract pieces that take on a life of
their own. I look forward to hearing your comments
about how you think it looks in place at last!

Commission

Last year I completed this commission and shipped it rolled up in a very long mailing tube to Texas. It measures 36" x 60". My client took it to a frame shop where they stretched it and this is what it looks like now. I will post a few more shots of it in place over the next few days. But I thought you would like to see it at its destination! Tell me what you think!

These are the TRUE colors!

OK, so the nature tour continues! I could hardly
believe the BLUE ivy when I was looking straight
at it, but nevertheless, there you have it!

Clothesline vine

My dad was a professional photographer. His
excellent eye gave me the education to develop
one too. I only hope it is half as good as his.
At dinnertime, when I was growing up, my dad
would often bring photos he had taken for one
of his fascinating jobs. He would explain why he
composed the shot the way he did. It was a
painless education in composition. And of course
I saw his countless photographs and slides over the
years and barely realized just how much I was
learning in the most wonderful of ways ~ by
observing!
When I started teaching art, I realized that
while I understood composition, having absorbed
it all those many years, I had to actually knuckle
down and pull together a way to teach my students
what it is ~
the heart of any piece of artwork ~ good composition.
Thanks Dad!

Blatant

OK, so today I am wanting to post something for
you just for the heck of it, because it is beautiful.
This was in front of my car on a wall in a parking
lot. Rather electric, wouldn't you say?
I am painting, but you will have to wait to see it
as it is not yet 'dressed' enough to present!
Enjoy this instead and keep looking around you
for the great little beauties in everyday life.

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Dinner Party Fun!


We each make an 'art' gift to give
at the dinner. A number is given to
the attendees as they arrive and when
that number is called, they can pick
whatever they want from the table!
And what was in that long tube? A
handmade and embellished walking
stick. There were many wonderful
original pieces and we always wait til
everyone has theirs and then we all
open them together! (you have to be
a grownup for this...). Then we each
get to show the art gift we got. Very
special and a good way to end our year!
Now we're in recess til September.
Take a look at http://www.alog.org/
to see more of what we do.

Who ARE these people???


Twenty-five years ago, I founded The Art League
of Germantown. I'm really proud to say that our
numbers have now reached near critical-mass!
We have over 80 members. About half of them
made it to the end-of-the-year dinner and here
you see most of them having a really good time
being waited on. We work so much the rest of the
year, we like the reverse flow for the wrap-up to
a busy year.

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Check out my Slide Show!


Since I have been posting a few pics of the reception

each day, I thought just going for the whole thing

would be better! Besides, seeing all these at once

(and NO, these are not all my photos of the event!)

would give a closer 'feel' to how it was. So there you

have it.

Monday, June 9, 2008

Art viewing at the winery




Some friends and visitors to the winery looking

at my work (always gratifying!). And then a shot

of the whole place with the wine bar on the right

and the art on the walls to the left. Gives you an

idea of the set up. It was so enjoyable for all who

came from their comments and smiles!

At the reception

In this shot you see me between two guests. This
is my table with guestbook and various promotion
pieces so people can find out more about what I do.
Behind the three of us is the winery. The walls with
my artwork are on the left, and the lovely long wine
bar is on the right. It was just the right touch to have
both together.

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Hang it all!

The day came this week, after months of creating
new works and all that goes into it. My wonderful
friend Robin (on the right) and my new and angel-like
assistant Kathy helped me hang the winery show!
(If I called Robin angelic, she would get a devilish
look just to prove me wrong!)
I, smiling in the middle, could not have done this on
my own. Robin had the SUV and between that and
my own vehicle, we loaded twentyeight pieces and
set forth up the road to www.frederickcellars.com
where tomorrow night the reception will be.
Expect to see more photos soon.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Announcement!

One-person show in Frederick, Maryland for the month of June

Lynne Oakes is the artist of the month in a one-person show
at the Frederick Cellars Winery.
The theme is "Up Close and Far Away"
and will begin with an opening reception on June 7th
from 5:00 to 8:00 pm at the winery.
This is also Frederick's "First Saturday",
a monthly event which showcases the town's shops and galleries.
For directions, go to www.frederickcellars.com

Sunday, June 1, 2008

What have I been doing?

No new posts for a good while now. This is because I am in the
throes of preparing for a one-person show for the month of
June. Today I opened the box of 19 small frames I ordered
and began framing small panel paintings for this show. My
photographer has about 5 new pieces that she is shooting
before the show and I still need to varnish two of them. So
the blog is on hold for the moment. Just to let you know what's
up around The Joy of Art Studio!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Demonstration of glazing with oil paint

This is a shot that includes everything I was working
with to demonstrate how you glaze color over a
dry underpainting. The underpainting was done
in raw umber and titanium white and allowed to
dry completely. Then layers of color are applied,
each one needing to dry before the next one is put
on. I use an alkyd medium as the glaze medium.
In the 'olden days' I made my own glazing mixture.
But hey, I don't use tin cans and string to make
calls anymore either!